IOS Land Yield Calculator
Rent per acre, land yield, and value at a target cap — built for covered-land plays.
Industrial outdoor storage trades on the land, not the building — so the number that matters isn't a building cap rate, it's how much yield the dirt throws off at your basis. This calculator gives you three things on one screen: rent per acre, going-in land yield, and the value that income supports at a target cap. Enter the deal the way it's quoted to you — per acre or total, monthly or annual — and it handles the per-acre math for you.
It also separates the broker yield (gross rent over price, the headline number) from the true yield that nets out the carry you actually shoulder: yard reserves, regrading, drainage, fencing, and any taxes you cover. On covered-land plays that gap is where deals get mispriced, so seeing both at once keeps you honest about what the asset really returns while you hold it.
Built by LFO Capital's underwriting team for our own industrial and IOS acquisitions. For a full deal — financing, escalators, exit, and a report graded against your buy box — run it through UpsideIQ.
Price an IOS yard on the dirt — rent per acre, going-in land yield, and value at a target cap. Required: usable acres, rent, and price. Optional: gross acres, landlord carry, and target cap.
Enter rent + usable acres to see gross rent.
That's over $200k per acre per year — did you mean a total rather than per-acre? Switch the unit if so.
These sum into the carry total above. Close this to enter a single number instead.
Enter usable acres, rent, and purchase price to see the land yield.
How it's calculated
IOS trades on rent per acre and land yield, not a building cap. Gross rent comes from rent × usable acres; NOI is gross minus the landlord carry; broker yield is gross ÷ price and true yield is NOI ÷ price. Value-at-cap runs off NOI, not gross. Whether the yield is attractive depends on rent-per-acre comps and — critically — whether the zoning use is durable.
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A chatbot guesses the math. This is computed.
Frequently asked questions
What is IOS land yield?
Land yield is the unlevered annual income an industrial-outdoor-storage site produces as a percentage of your purchase price — effectively a cap rate framed around the land rather than a building. It's net operating income (gross rent minus the expenses you carry) divided by price. Because IOS income comes from low-intensity uses like truck parking, container storage, and equipment yards, "land yield" is the more honest label than "cap rate."
How do you calculate rent per acre for IOS?
Divide rent by usable (leasable) acres, annualized. IOS rent is most often quoted per acre per month, so a 5-acre yard at $8,000/acre/month is $40,000/month, or $480,000 a year — $96,000 per usable acre per year. This calculator normalizes whichever unit you have, per acre or total, monthly or annual, so you're not converting in your head.
What's a good land yield for an IOS deal?
It depends on market, location quality, and lease term, but covered-land IOS commonly underwrites from the high single digits to low double digits going in. Infill sites near ports, rail, or dense logistics corridors trade tighter (lower yield, higher value); tertiary sites need more to compensate for risk. The right benchmark is your own cost of capital and hold thesis, not a universal number — which is why the gauge spans 4% to 12% rather than flagging one "correct" figure.
What rent per acre can IOS command?
It varies widely by market — commonly somewhere in the range of $25,000 to $90,000 per usable acre per year, with the densest, most supply-constrained infill submarkets pushing well above that. Zoning, a stabilized surface, secured fencing, power, and access all move the number. Treat any single comp cautiously and underwrite to in-place, defensible rent.
What's the difference between broker yield and true yield?
Broker yield is gross rent divided by price — the clean headline number a seller's broker leads with. True yield nets out the carry you actually bear as the landlord: yard reserves, regrading and drainage, fencing and site maintenance, insurance, management, and any taxes you cover rather than pass through. On NNN deals the two can be close; on gross or partially covered leases the gap is real, and ignoring it is the most common way an IOS land yield gets overstated.
What is a covered-land play?
Buying land — or a low-coverage industrial site — where the current low-intensity use (outdoor storage, parking, a small building) generates enough income to "cover" your carrying costs while you hold for future appreciation, rezoning, or redevelopment. The storage income isn't the endgame; it's what funds the wait. Land yield is how you measure whether the cover is thick enough.
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